Full-time jobs don’t come easily for any musician who hopes to get somewhere. “The idea of having something to depend on is so alluring, but it’s also its own prison sentence,” says Pretty Rude’s James Palko. “You almost always have to take these terrible part-time, low-paying jobs you can bail on for months at a time to go on tour.”
Begun as a “theoretical exercise” with collaborator Matt Cook during the pandemic, Pretty Rude has since become Palko’s latest legitimate gig since dislodging himself from New York City punk/emo outfits Taking Meds and Perspective, A Lovely Hand To Hold. This past year, he also released the ’70s-flavored outing Tomorrow’s Coffee under the Jimmy Montague moniker. A much heavier full-band affair, Pretty Rude’s debut LP, Ripe, is out May 16 via SideOneDummy.
“‘Call Me, Ishmael’ was the first song I wrote for the record,” says Palko. “Lyrically, it’s about that feeling of dread you get whenever you get a new job. The song is about contemplating giving up on playing music for three hot and a cot.”
Palko currently works as an engineer at Two Worlds Recording Studio in Queens—not exactly White Castle. “One of my favorite guitar tones of all time is on Weezer’s ‘In The Garage,’” he says. “I really strove to get somewhere in that ballpark on ‘Call Me, Ishmael.’ The song ended up a little more in Rentals territory, but I think the ritardando at the end of the song is one of the highlights of the album. It just hits.”
We’re proud to premiere Pretty Rude’s “Call Me, Ishmael.”
—Hobart Rowland
